Chasing The Sun - Notes
Chasing The Sun
"Chasing The Sun" is dedicated to Hayabusa_Fangirl (AKA winter_kisses).
Author's Notes
1. Access to the locked chapters is by invitation only because I don't know 99% of the people who ask me for access to them and, of those, only 1% ever stick around enough for me to get to know them. If you interact with me here on my journal, at my friends' journals, the LJ communities I run or belong to, deviantArt, YouTube, Beefcake Central or The Pirates of the Dwarf Cove then maybe I will reconsider allowing you access to the locked chapters. Sorry I have to be a bitch about this but I think I'm justified in not wanting to share my most private fantasies with anyone and everyone on the planet. As I have explained many many times before, "Chasing The Sun" is designed to be read with or without the locked chapters. You do NOT need the locked chapters to enjoy the story as a whole.
2. "Chasing The Sun" is an autobiographical fantasy as well as a Saiyuki fanfiction. Therefore (scandalous!) I am the female protagonist. Deal with it. I didn't write this story to please anyone other than myself, the friend who inspired me (during a conversation at http://www.beefcakecentral.com) by suggesting that I tell her how I think my relationship with Genjyo Sanzo would work out, and those folks who will read "Chasing The Sun" and honestly enjoy the experience regardless of popular fashion among our fellow Saiyuki fans. In the unlikely event that what I write is offensive to Kazuya Minekura herself I will apologize to her and to her alone. Update: nimblnymph has kindly informed me that "Chasing The Sun" is not a Mary Sue. It's an O.C. Thank you, Nim. My argument still stands about my refusal to apologize for inserting myself into the story. ^_~
3. There will be plenty of violence, obscenities, and other provocative stuff. There is smut which is restricted to a select audience. Therefore, "Chasing The Sun" is not at all suitable for squeamish, easily offended, or immature readers. Also, be aware that there will be no homoerotica in "Chasing The Sun". Yeah yeah. I know how overwhelmlingly popular yaoi is. I don't give a damn. As far as I'm concerned most of the Saiyuki characters are as straight as Robin Hood's arrows. I've seen nothing in the canon to contradict that belief. On the other paw, the irregular relationships that are canon will be included in "Chasing The Sun". So if you have a problem with incest and child abuse don't blame me. Blame Minekura as it was she who gave those situations to Gojyo and his stepmother, Hakkai and his sister, Ukoku and Kami-Sama, etc. I do have a humongous problem with child abuse so that will obviously be shown in a negative light. Shotacon/Lolicon this is not. I suspect that Hazel and Go Dougan do indeed have unrequited crushes on Genjyo, but I'm going to leave the exact nature of their obsessions vague because I honestly can't be sure that either of them conciously view him as a sexual conquest. C'mon, folks - who doesn't view him as a sexual conquest (at least on a subconscious level)? Yar. Dr. Sigmund Freud would have a field day with Saiyuki and its fanfics, including mine.
4. I am taking a lot of liberties with Saiyuki because Minekura has omitted most of the details I need to write "Chasing The Sun". My aim is to make this as realistic as I can while staying true to Saiyuki canon as much as is possible. Naturally, I will be including non-canon characters, events, etc, that I feel are necessary to make "Chasing The Sun" work right. For information on Germanic heathenry and its apparatus I suggest you do your own research. Wikipedia is helpful, but you'll probably want to look up several sites on Asatru and its spritual kin to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
5. It is my understanding that Shangri-lah is a postapocalyptic world set in the distant future or an alternate reality. For this reason I will be including elements of the real Asia (particularly China) both past and present in"Chasing The Sun". Trust me, Minekura is doing this too. The difference in "Chasing The Sun" is that I will be attempting to emphasize the Chinese culture of Shangri-lah with little or no reference to Saiyuki's Japanese origin or my own American background. This will not be an easy task, and I'm sure I will make lots of glaring mistakes in this regard. Please forgive me. Helpful corrections from you are welcome.
6. A note on the ethnic peoples of Shangri-lah: In the real, China there are scores of different ethnic groups - including "white" Caucasians. People from Europe, The Middle East, and India have lived and died in China for millenia. You probably noticed, as I did, that few of the human citizens of Shangri-lah are Han Chinese. Maybe now we know why. My best guess is Shangri-lah is a cosmopolitan place where people from all over the Earth have gathered and lived for centuries following whatever cosmic event brought the humans and youkai to cohabitate. I'm also guessing that Hazel and Gato come from a similarly positioned version of America. Yeah, I know Hazel has a Spanish accent in Gunlock and acts like a Southern gentleman in the Reload mangas, but if you look at the history of America this combination could have been a real occurance. I chose English to be the lingua-franca of Shangri-lah's world and the many dialects of Chinese as Shangr-lah's native language because, duh, that's pretty much the way it is in real life with the exception of English being widely practiced in China - at least not until fairly recently.
7. As hinted at above, I will be attempting to keep the journey to India as close to the original Journey to the West and Xuan Zhang's journey as I can where these fit in with Saiyuki and the natural course of "Chasing The Sun". For this reason I'll be keeping mostly to the Silk Route and its immediate vicinity. There will probably be detours, of course, given the erratic progress of the canon cast; the mysterious location of key places such as Keiun Palace, Houtouh Castle, and Kinzan Temple; and the tempation to send the gang to Chomolungma (Mt. Everest) and Llasa, Tibet. Don't you wonder what would happen if Genjyo met the Dali Lama too?
8. What type of Buddhism Genjyo practices will remain a mystery until I learn enough about Buddhism in general to feel comfortable with identifying his particular brand. The romantic in me wishes to make him a Shaolin monk, but for now I'll have to be content with describing him as the rebel holy man he is. Update: I've decided to go ahead with Genjyo having been taught Shaolin Buddhism because the research I've done confirms that is a good match.
9. As far as I'm concerned, the boys are blood brothers even though they haven't done any ceremony to that effect beyond the pact they made to stay together forever when they were still gods.
10. Gojyo's weapon is properly called a jakoujou (Bishop's Spade). There's another name for it, but I'm not experienced enough with the spelling to call it by that other name. The shakoujou is actually the staff with the rings on top that Genjyo, Rikudo (Shuei), Ukoku, and many other traveling Buddhist monks carry. Henceforth, I will always call Gojyo's weapon a jakoujou.
11. Regarding Hazel and Gato's background: I think Hazel was probably born and raised in the American South. Mostly likely in or around New Orleans. This would neatly explain his Spanish accent, his Southern airs, and his Catholic upbringing. He is a bishop after all, so it makes clear sense to me that he is or was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. In addition, it is a fact that Spanish Catholic clergymen spread throughout the American Southwest along with the rest of the Spanish folks who lived here prior to the rise of English dominance. I'm also hazarding a guess that Gato is Apache. Yes, this is based on stereotypical ideas, but if you've got a better theory for him, tell me.
12. For the time being I will refer to the "demons" as youkai until I learn what the proper Chinese word for wight is. I'm also on the prowl for the correct term for Goku's specific type of being.
13. I know. I know. Kanzeon Bosatsu is officially a hermaphrodite, but for the sake of my sanity, I am going to treat him/her as wholly female. There is no official pronoun for such a person in English, and I'm not wild about the use of "se" or whatever it is Saiyuki fanfic writers are using.
14. In regards to names and spelling, I aim to remain as close to the Anglo-Chinese spelling as I feel comfortable with. I prefer to call Genjyo Sanzo by his given name not his title. If you get confused by my calling him Genjyo, I apologize in advance. Keep in mind that Sanzo is Genjyo's title, and the other characters call him that mostly as a nickname (Think of calling a doctor "Doc".). Also keep in mind that Chinese surnames are usually single syllable and said prior to the person's given name. Thus Cho and Sha are Hakkai's and Gojyo's surnames respectively. You will probably be relieved that I will usually refer to them as Hakkai and Gojyo. As for Goku, I will usually call him Goku because Seiten Taisei Son Goku is an aweful mouthfull and ought to be used only when he is in his "monkey king" form. I will call the Tenchi Kaigen Sutras sutras because that's the word I'm most familar with for such holy scriptures. The Maten, Seiten, and Muten sutras will be referred to by name. The other two will be called Renli's Sutra and The Missing Sutra, because I have no idea which name properly belongs to either of them yet, but I still need something to identify them with. Yes, I like to torture myself by insisting on spelling out dipthongs and other vowel sounds. Thus, I will frequently use the y, ouh, and other fancy spellings. What can I say? I'm a literary snob. Update: I have decided to call Hakkai's dragon Hakuryu instead of Jeep because, although he is called Jeep in the mangas, Hakuryu is the name I usually of think of when referring to him.
15. I wish to avoid using "fanon". If you spot something from someone else's fanfiction that is not of Saiyuki canon, of the real Asia, of the original Journey to the West, or of Xuan Zhang's life then please alert me.
16. I consider both the mangas and the animes (including Gensomaden Saiyuki Premium OVA, Kibou no Zaika,, Requiem, and when I have a chance to possess it - the Burial OVA) to be canon. In places where the two media coincide (and thus contradict each other) I will defer to the mangas. In places where incidents occur only in the animes I will defer to the animes. You get the idea.
17.There will be spoilers aplenty. I will include everything I know of Saiyuki as each part fits into the course of "Chasing The Sun". The most recent events of Reload and Gunlock will occur late in "Chasing The Sun" simply because I will write the story in chronological order - beginning in Chang 'An shortly before Genjyo gets his traveling orders to "go west".
18. I want to do a set of illustrations for "Chasing The Sun" some day. If any of you wish to, you may do your own art pieces based on my story. I will be delighted to see what you make of my flight of fancy.
19. The title is a double pun. I'll make a customized prize for the first person who correctly guesses what the pun's twin references are. Naturally, the prize will be something of a quickie piece. ODD has limited gumption you see. Please do not ask for something that is outside my forte. I want to do as good a job on that as I do my major projects. Update: Congratulations to cherise75 for being the first to correctly guess both meanings of the title. I'll get to your prize eventually. *innocent whistle*
20.. "Chasing The Sun" is, of course, an epic saga. I will not finish "Chasing The Sun" until Saiyuki itself is completed and I've experienced that all the way to its final conclusion.
21. Yah. I know many of you will still have questions or comments for me. That's what the comments section here is for. I wish to keep "Chasing The Sun" itself uncluttered of author-reader interaction so the comments section there will be disabled. Anywho, fire off whatever you have to say when you're ready. Flames will be promptly deleted as per my discretion. Don't worry about typos. I will fix those myself as I am the sort of freak who is insane enough to do my own proofreading, and as I said, I am a literary snob. Don't be shocked if I frequently edit and re-edit "Chasing The Sun" and these notes.
Are you ready yet, dear reader? Well then fasten your seatbelt. You're in for a very wild ride.
Muwahahahahaha!
^_^
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